Instructional strategies are methods that educators use to help students engage in learning. Best Practice Strategies provide for optimal engagement that develops enduring learning.
 

	First Word Strategy (with a partner) http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/first_word.htm
	Say Something Strategy – (You and your partner decide where you will stop reading for each section.) Read and after each major heading stop, turn to your partner and “say something.” http://www.harcourtachieve.com/c/@QygyFB5mL3mJw/Pages/teasay.html
	Walk Around Survey http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/walk_around_survey.htm
	Jigsaw Strategy http://www.jigsaw.org/
	Strategies for All Content Areas (We used Carousel.) http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/
	Instructional Strategies for Engaging Learners http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/index.htm
	Journey North Instructional Strategies http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/InstrucStrats_40Best.html
	Journey North Reading Strategies (all content areas) http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/ReadStrats_20Best.html
	Reflect and Connect Activities http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/reflect_activities.cfm#connection
	Admit/Exit Strategy http://www.wku.edu/3kinds/dmaesmain.html

Pre-Searches for Background knowledge: Ask students to do a search in a specific FCSC subscription database or in a search engine such as Google.  At the end of a class period, give a brief topic (i.e., person, place, thing) to the class that will be relevant to the next lecture. Tell them that each student is required to do a search of that topic for the next class meeting, and that each one will be asked to share the most unusual, little known, or humorous fact about that topic. If the class is not too large, have every student participate by sharing one fact.  Check out more ideas here:  http://www.bryan.edu/1478.html 

Other Best Practices:
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/bestpractice/index.html  and http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/bestpractice/story/examples.html  and Storytelling: http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/constructivism/how/strategies.html

Classroom Instruction That Works, Marzano,  Chapter 2

Strategy	Content
Analogy	Science-Teaching Science Concepts to Children:The Role of Analogies
Analogy	All-How is a Hot dog Like a Shoe?: Thinking by Analogy
Analogy	All-Analogies Card Game
Analogy	All-Personal Analogy
Analogy	All-Direct Analogy
Analogy	Science—Analogy of Cell Parts
Classifying	Science
Classifying	Sport Science (deer) – Steve
Classifying	Social Studies/History
Classifying	Timeline Tool (online tool like Timeliner software)
Comparison	All - Be a Reading Detective Identifying Similarities and Differences
Comparison	Math—Venn Diagrams
Comparison	All—Venn Diagram Assessment
Comparison	Social Studies—Comparing the Continents
Comparison	Lang. Arts—Hero Venn Diagram
Comparison	Math- Competing Coasters
Comparison	Science-Skull Diversity
Comparison	Social Studies—Where in the World Would You Like to Live?
Metaphors	English (All -  for introducing/reviewing metaphors or idioms)
Metaphors	English - Online Interactive Poetry Introduction to Metaphors
Metaphors	All - Teaching through Riddles
Metaphors	All - Writing Riddles
Metaphors	All - Metaphor Tutorial
Metaphors	Math, Art – Mathematical Metaphors in Art (lesson plan)
Metaphors	Math, Art – Mathematical Metaphors in Art (article)